


By your side, this Christmas night

by FaintBlueIvy



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Special, Cute, Drama & Romance, Everyone ships them, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, only for a while though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 04:09:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17155046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaintBlueIvy/pseuds/FaintBlueIvy
Summary: "So, you see? I don't want to make Grandma sad and well...Mama suggested that I can ask you to be my-" "Boyfriend?"It's Christmas family gathering and Mikoto wants to see her granddaughter's boyfriend of two years. But there is a teeny tiny problem - well, the said boyfriend never existed in the first place.





	By your side, this Christmas night

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe that I actually ended up completing this on time. Gosh, this is the longest oneshot I have written - ever. My monster of 8k words! 
> 
> This piece is dedicated to lovely benteja for her awesome art for this work! 
> 
> Following prompts were included here :
> 
> 1\. Write about a shy Boruto confessing his feelings for Sarada.
> 
> 2\. Write about Boruto defending Sarada.
> 
> 3\. "I can tell you're having fun."
> 
> 4\. "Your lips are really warm."
> 
> It is unbeta'd though. Hope you people still enjoy it!
> 
> Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto/Boruto franchise and it's characters.

 

[Please look at the art made for this FIC here! ](https://twitter.com/patatas_bananas/status/1077557526122528768)

"He's late."

She thought. The sound of her heels clicking against the floor echoed through the empty halls of the library. Rows and rows of books laid upon the either sides, old and new, big and small, were all neatly arranged in particular order related to subjects and then alphabetical orders. She stopped for a moment to investigate a certain book wondering if it would help them with their project.

Even as a kid, Sarada had always felt a strange sense of kinship with the books. Being the only child of her parents and even her family, Sarada had spent a major portion of her days secluded in the vast stretches of the library of the Uchiha mansion. Nose buried in books of legends and myths, of history and mystery was a day to day occurance in her childhood life.

So when she finally moved out for higher studies, the University library became an important part of her daily routine automatically.

But at the moment her presence here, just two days before christmas was of utmost importance. She didn't know what possessed her teachers to have this brilliant idea of adding a high grade scoring thesis project on their schedules deliberately on the festive season. Sarada's nose crinkled in displeasure. They were supposed to have fun! Cooped up inside her home writing a thirty page assignment was not her idea of celebrating Christmas.

Another sigh escaped her lips. Well, this book did have some stuff to the point. It was fortunate that this project was to be completed in pairs of your choice. Naturally, she teamed up with him. And now again, when the subject of him arose back, she remembered - he's late. It was neither common for him to be late nor was it to be always punctual. Maybe he's just forgotten about it? Midst of maintaining his grades and regular soccer practices, there were times when he would forget about things, meetings, gatherings and even events. So she slid her phone out of her pocket but stopped at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. Something told her that it's not him. The rhythm of the steps was just way too wrong to be him and her suspicions are proven to be true when she turns around.

It's another guy - from Commerce faction. What was his name again? Horiko? Hariko? Oh yes, Horio! He smiled at her with what he assumed must be a charming smile. She didn't want to tell him but he looks ridiculous with that look.

She smiled awkwardly, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Not sensing the reluctance in her smile, she grimaced when he seemed to be encouraged by it. He leaned against the frame of the shelf, trying to look cool but honestly it doesn't suit him. She wanted to say it but then bit her tongue to not come out as rude.

"Um,Yes. Actually I was wondering if, I mean, would you like to be my date? For the christmas ball?"

Sarada inherently resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I'm sorry Horio. But I don't think I'll be available in that particular duration of time."

She gave him a stiff smile and a side nod to acknowledge that the conversation was over. And then immediately turned back to browse through the multiple books of interest, waiting eagerly for his footsteps to retreat. But rather she was met with this.

"You're playing hard to get, aren't you?"

A flare of indignation lit up inside her at his words. What part of not being available did this guy had trouble understanding? She turned back to glare at him.

"Horio. I am not 'playing hard to get'! I will be off to my grandparents' house."

Her eyes grew wide at his audacity of stepping closer and going as far as speaking to her in an accusatory manner.

"You're lying! If you had to leave, you would have already left."

Sarada closed her eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath to control the urge to punch him.

"Not everybody has to leave four days before, you know. And as I said earlier, I cannot accompany you to the ball. Please try to understand! I'm here because I have some work to do as you already can see. And I do not lie. I will be leaving anytime I wish and you don't have the right to interfere."

She suddenly realised that her words were much harsher than she intended but fury engulfed her when he stretched out a hand to touch her arm.

"Oh come on-"

The hand never reached her though. It stopped mid-way. Sarada silently gasped at the sight of the firm grip that _he_ had over the guy's wrist.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Dude. That's where you draw the line. You asked and she said no. This is the moment to back down."

Sarada felt an odd sense of relief wash over her at Boruto's familiar presence. She knew, even if his tone was friendly, his eyes were too sharp and grip way too tight for that.

The boy must have immediately recognised him. After all, the blond football star who was incredibly popular with almost everyone in the famous university seemed hard to miss. He grew pale and immediately scrambled off, running and almost tripping over his own two feet.

Boruto looked pleased with himself, "Wow. I didn't knew that I inspired this kind of terror in people."

Sarada rolled her eyes and then proceeded to collect the unattended books.

"You know? I could have easily defended myself?"

His eyes grew wide before he gave her a small grin.

"I know! I was actually trying to save him, you know. Saving his ass from getting kicked by a karate black belt."

That statement forced a grin to break out on Sarada's face.

Many people around the campus generally perceived Sarada to be anti-social. But she was not. Just because she was not fond of going clubs and getting herself wasted drunk and then going to a guy or a girl's (yes, she's had have her fair share of female admirers) room and involve into any frivolous and adventurous activity was not her cup of tea. But still, it was enough to be dubbed as 'anti-social'. She admits that she is little reserved. But, anybody would seem to be in comparison when their best friends are Uzumaki Boruto and Akimichi Chouchou.

Both Boruto and Chouchou are social butterflies. One is hailed as gossip queen and the other is well loved by the masses. She cannot compete with them, neither does she dare. She willingly supports when people are in trouble and come to her for help but it gets a little annoying, when the same people spread rumours about her when she refuses to attend one of their _amazing_ parties.

She remembered, Boruto giving hell to one of the guys of his team. Making him run unnecessary laps, cleaning of their soccer club room, marking and grooming the field and stuff like that. At first she was not sure about why Boruto was treating one of his own team mate like that but it was later she learned from Chouchou after a dramatic 'you didn't know?' that the guy was talking about her "bitchy" attitude after she had refused a date with him at the prospect of upcoming exams. Of course, Boruto did not take it nicely.

"Hey! Look, I found this!" his voice brought her out of her musings. He was looking at a book with utmost concentration, skimming through the pages at a fast pace. Sarada's attempt to peek over his shoulder seemed futile because he was much taller, so, in slight frustration, Sarada grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down at her level, grazing through the content displayed on the page he was pointing at. If she would have been a little less focused on the book she would have noticed how Boruto stiffened under touch and even how pink his ears look at the moment.

"Excellent!" she exclaimed. "This is it! Now we have enough matter to write at least forty pages of assignment."

"Already?"

"Yup! I already collected other necessary books. After all, someone was fifteen minutes late to the scheduled time." She scoffed at him and he smiled sheepishly, not defending himself.

She picked up the large pile of the books and lightly grunted. It was nothing she couldn't handle but it wasn't exactly comfortable to have books levelling up to your nose. But the weight in her arms was reduced significantly when Boruto grabbed a larger part of them. He gave her nod and then they left for their place. A small table set in the farthest corner of the library. Away from unwanted noise where Sarada could simply indulge herself into the book of her choice for as long as she would like. Boruto simply didn't mind it, telling her it's fine as long as she is fine with this. It was their personal bubble. A place where they could sit without needing to fill the quietness of the silence between them. Sometimes, a comfortable shared silence is much more than incessant chatter to be with each other.

Moving through the empty hallways, they reached their destination. And Sarada's eyes widened at the presence of a paper bag and two plastic cup containers of the coffee. She put the two and two together and chuckled at him.

"So, that's where all the traffic was?"

Boruto gave a half laugh half grimace in response.

"I left ten minutes early and still got here fifteen minutes late. It was the lunch hour rush, I guess?"

"You know eating _is_ forbidden in library?" she chastised him lightly.

"Oh come on! I thought if I was going to spend the entire afternoon cooped up in here then I'd rather be not hungry!" He complained and then continued, "Knowing you, you probably forgot about lunch, didn't you?"

Sarada puffed out her cheeks, "I did not!"

But her traitorous stomach betrayed her at very moment with a loud growl and Sarada blushed red at the sound of Boruto's sonorous laugh.

"Of course, you didn't. Had the largest lunch without me? Eh?"

The sight of his impish smirk and glinting eyes made her heart thud loudly in the chest. She couldn't understand that how the guy she is most comfortable with, still could make her flush like that. Boruto and she have a long history shared in between. The friendship between their families exists from their grandmothers' time, continued through their fathers and is still alive, well and good with her and Boruto. She cannot remember even a small stretch of her life without his presence in it. So it goes without saying…the trust she has in him. She knows she would never verbalise it but still he knows and she believes that is already more than enough.

So, the entire afternoon is spent sipping 'caramel cappuccino' – one of her favourites, eating oily fries and hotter than necessary hamburgers, pouring themselves over the books for all the comprehensible study material for the topic, taking notes and marking important lines. When she finally took a moment to breathe and stretched her neck upwards to avoid the cramps, her eyes fell on the clock and she gasped.

"Boruto!"

"Yeah?" he asked, still not looking up from the notebook he's been scribbling upon.

"The time!" at her exclamation, his eyes travelled to the clock too.

"Holy shit!" he cursed and began gathering their scattered things. She helped him by picking up his notes and stuffing them into her own bag as he frantically placed the books back in their respective places.

"Hey what about them?" he asked pointing to another pile of five books, most of those had the largest amount of content that they hadn't been able to analyse.

"We can get them photocopied, the specific pages, and then immediately return them back to the library." She offered.

"They'll let us?"

"The librarian knows me."

"Of course he does. After all, you do spend half of your life here." He smirked mischievously again and Sarada suppressed the urge to smack him.

…

They were returning back to the library after getting some stuff xeroxed to return the books. Walking side by side, they were making plans for the upcoming journey, happy at the prospect of seeing their families again.

"So, when are we leaving tomorrow?" He questioned, head tilted towards her.

She looked at him, "After breakfast immediately?"

"Sounds good! I'll come to pick you up."

"Alright."

"Hey, Uncle Itachi and Aunt Izumi are coming too?"

He asked with obvious interest. At the mentioning of her beloved Uncle and Aunt she couldn't help but grin.

"Yes, they are! I'm so glad, you know!"

Before she could continue and gush out a little more, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Boruto! Sarada!"

The sight of the purple haired girl running towards them made Sarada smile.

"Sumire? Hello! How are you?" she asked when the other woman came to stand in front of them. She looked a little out of breath.

"I'm good Sarada! It's been a while since I've seen you."

The girl smiled at Sarada brightly, her long braid swished.

Sarada nodded. "Of course, we don't see each other more often. It's a shame that we don't share any classes."

Sumire laughed, "Oh, even if I don't study with you, trust me, I know all about you."

"Eh?" Sarada looked surprised.

"Blame Boruto! Talking about you is his favourite pastime! It's adorable!"

Sarada found herself flushing red at the girl's words, peeking up at him shyly.

_Boruto talks about her?_

"No it's not!" Boruto vehemently denied. His cheeks turning pink as well.

Sumire laughed out even more loudly now, but then she immediately got a little fidgety.

"Now I remember, I wanted to talk to you Boruto. Um, alone if Sarada doesn't mind."

"Alright then." Sarada gave them a small nod and gestured to the books in Boruto's arms.

"I'll go and submit these myself. You both can go. No problem!"

And before Boruto could make any protest Sarada had already swiped the books off his hands and swiveled around to march to the library.

"Sarada!" Boruto called out to her again.

"Yes?"

"We're going to the cafeteria! Meet me there when you're done!"

Sarada yelled out a 'yes' in response and waved back to the Sumire with a smile.

…

When she later entered the cafeteria she found Boruto alone in one of the corner most table with a single Yakisoba bun. He looked silent and thoughtful and Sarada wasn't sure what to make of it. At her approach, he broke into a smile and flicked his hand for her to sit on the chair in front.

"Where is Sumire?"

"She left, a while ago. She had a train to catch."

"Ah I see."

"Do you want this?" He asked pointing down at his bun. At her shake of head, he simply grabbed the bun and stuffed it into his mouth. Sarada was about to deliver a lecture on proper mannerisms of eating but he already picked up his bag and was leaving the table.

"Hey!" She shouted indignantly and followed him immediately.

"Come on, let's go home." he said, attempting to hide his frustration but it was nakedly visible to Sarada's eyes. Deciding not to pry it, she left him to his devices hoping that he'd come to her when he would want to.

The car ride to her apartment was silent. She was absent-mindedly staring out of the window, the white of the snow was glowing even in the advent of the evening.

Suddenly her cell phone buzzed and she was startled. Pulling it out, a smile graced her lips immediately at the sender. But soon after she paled and quickly typed a text back and slipped it back into her pocket.

At the sight of her colour drained face, Boruto looked worried, "Is something the matter?"

Sarada squeaked, a little embarrassed.

"No. Nope. Not at all."

At her response Boruto did raise a questioning brow but did not scrape any further.

When they arrive at her apartment, Sarada not wanting to part with him yet made an offer without even thinking.

"Do you wanna stay for dinner?"

"Eh?"

At his surprised reaction, she tries to explain.

"Chouchou is not here and it's quite empty. I mean, Mitsuki's left too? So you can come over if you want?"

He grinned at her.

"What are you cooking?"

"Maybe spaghetti?"

"That sounds great!"

"Alright then, come on!"

She called out, pointing to the empty space in car parking. But a frown decorated her face as he shook his head.

"I'm going to get my car checked. We can't afford to get stranded in the middle of a freaking snowstorm, now do we?"

She chuckled before questioning him again.

"Do you think you'll get someone free now? It's too late!"

"Don't worry! I already told Iwabe that I was coming." He smirked, quite full of himself for thinking ahead of time.

"Ah okay. So you'll be coming later?"

"Yup! By eight if you don't mind."

"I don't."

She smiled and he nodded. She watched if backing out of complex and then roaring off to the sunset.

…

She had already changed into warm and comfortable full length pyjamas when she picked up her phone. The matter was urgent and was in need of immediate consideration.

The phone rang thrice before it was picked up on the other side of the line.

"Mama?"

" _Hey sweetie! You guys are coming tomorrow, right?"_

"Yes we are. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."

" _Eh? Is something wrong darling?"_

"Yes, um, I actually received a text from grandma."

" _Yes? Is anything wrong with that?"_

"No! That's not it."

She stopped, not sure how to bring up the issue. But thankfully enough, Sakura had infinite patience when it came to her daughter.

"You see...grandma was confirming my arrival and also my... boyfriend's."

There was a moment of silence before a loud familiar laughter crinkled on the other side.

"Mama! It's not funny!"

" _I'm sorry Sarada! It's way too hilarious."_

"No it's not!"

Sarada puffed up her cheeks when Sakura still continued to laugh her head off.

"Mama!"

" _Alright. Alright! I'm sorry! Sweetie. So what's wrong here?"_

"The fact that this boyfriend never ever existed?"

" _Yeah, it's been two years. Right? Since you've_ had _that boyfriend?"_

"I-I don't know what to do anymore!"

" _Sarada... I apologize sweet heart. But I don't think I can do anything about it. You promised her last time, didn't you? She's going to be upset if you don't bring_ him _."_

"But how?"

" _Hmm...how about you make a fake one?"_

"WHAT?!"

" _Why not?"_

"I can't bring someone like that! In such a short amount of time as well! And most of my male friends are already off for the vacation! You don't expect me to walk up to any random guy on streets, tap him and say, 'Hey, you wanna be my pretend boyfriend?' now, can I?"

" _No, of course not! But dear, don't you have one 'male friend's coming over already? He's perfect!"_

There was a stretch of pin drop silence before Sarada exploded in a mess of brilliant red and frantic gestures.

"Waaaahh! No! You can't possibly mean him-right? He's-he's Boruto! Boruto!"

" _Yup! That's what makes him a perfect candidate now."_

Sarada didn't know how to respond. There was something very mischievous, something very knowing in her voice. Something that Sarada wasn't sure if she'd even like to delve deeper into.

But before the conversation could continue Sakura apologised and left, claiming that Sasuke was calling her for something urgent with a quick 'I love you and see you tomorrow, sweetie.'

Sarada sat there on the couch dumbfounded. Contemplating her various options, she realised she that she was in deep trouble. Because they looked something like this -

Do not bring any 'boyfriend' home and upset her precious grandmother.

Tell her that you've been lying to her for past two years and get her even more upset.

Suck it up and ask Boruto to fill the role.

Obviously, the logical answer would be to take up the third option but something in her heart fluttered thinking of Boruto and her that way. She knew that she was not supposed to feel this way about it. He was her best friend and she could be blind and yet trust him with everything she has. Then what was making her heart clench like that?

Making up her mind, she rushed into the kitchen deciding to make up a decent meal for two. The sauce was simmering and the pasta was boiling when she heard the doorbell ring. A glance at the clock confirmed his arrival. She immediately wiped her hands in the front of her apron and opened the door. He smiled as he thrust a small desert box in her hand, moving to remove his coat and shoes.

"How was it?"

"Oh, Iwabe said that the car was in fine condition. I got the gas filled and we won't be needing to make any stops before lunch now."

Sarada headed inside, him following her behind. As he set the table for two, Sarada stirred the sauce one last time before adding the pasta. She turned to wash her hands in the sink when she saw him leaning against wall, arms crossed, watching her with a fond smile in his face. She quickly sensed her cheeks burning pink.

"What?!"

"Nothing!" he gave her a cheeky smile, before sauntering over and leaning down close to her level, forcing her cheeks to darken. She could practically hear her own heart thrumming loudly.

"You just looked pretty homely there."

Whispering that softly he moved off, leaving her gawking in embarrassment and confusion.

The dinner was an ordinary affair. Well as ordinary as it could be after the stunt he just pulled. They talked about whatever they could with occasional laughter and banter. As the dinner neared its end Sarada found her hands getting sweaty. She knew she was stalling but for how long?

She cleared her throat and then trying to salvage any of the composure she had left, called out to him strongly.

"Ah. Boruto."

"Yeah?"

"I have a small favour to ask."

 _Small? It's not small!_ Her conscience seemed to scream.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Um, you see…"

She continued to explain him the adversity of the situation. Her helplessness and her wish to not upset her grandmother with something so unimportant. Just babbling and deciding to wait for the reaction when it comes.

"So, you see? I don't want to make Grandma sad and well...Mama suggested that I can ask you to be my-"

"Boyfriend?" he cut her off, an expression flickering with mirth and something she couldn't lay her hand upon.

Sarada looked stunned for a moment, staring at him with wide eyes as he smirked. She gulped and then said softly, "You don't have to if you-"

"Sure!"

"Sure?"

"Yeah, I'd love to be your boyfriend." he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously at her red face.

"P-pretend boyfriend!" she cursed herself mentally for stuttering but turned her face on to the other side to block the red tint on her cheeks from his sight.

"Yeah, fine."

He said casually and Sarada felt a little at ease. This…went easier than she had expected. When they had their dessert, they cleaned up the kitchen together, his washing the dishes and her drying them.

"So...do we act couple lovey dovey now?" he questioned, staring at her from the corner of his eyes.

"I...don't think it would be a good idea with my Papa around the corner." Sarada said after considering a dozen scenarios in her head which didn't end well.

"I agree alright." he deadpanned.

There were a few moments of silence before a curious thought occurred to her.

"Hey? Why did you agree to it?"

"Cause you asked me to?"

He said, more like questioned with his brows raised.

"Yes, but so readily?"

She tilted her head, looking up at him with knowing eyes.

"Um, well…" he hesitated.

"Well?" she prompted, almost smirking, having caught him off guard was a fun thing to do.

"Ah-h, I was having trouble with Grandma too! Girlfriend troubles!" he said hastily.

"Ooh? Really?" she grinned.

"Really!" he yelled, pouting as if angry that she was doubting him.

She shook her head, grinning to herself as they completed up cleaning.

"So, I'll be leaving then." He wiped his hands off the kitchen towel and removed the apron he had been wearing, rolling his sleeves down again.

"Okay."

She accompanied him to the door standing by his side with his coat in her arms and watching him slip on his boots.

"We can have breakfast at Momo's tomorrow."

Sarada said, handing over his coat to him.

He slipped his arms in through the sleeves and nodded in agreement.

"Fine."

"And I'm paying by the way." she declared.

"Hmm? Why is that so?"

"Because you already bought today's lunch in the library and now desserts."

"That's not a valid excuse."

"It's enough for me."

It was funny, for them to have a serious stare-down in front of her gate over who should pay for tomorrow's breakfast. After a few long minutes of intense showdown Boruto gave up.

"Alright woman, alright. Stop glaring at me for something so trivial. Geez!"

Sarada giggled at his expression and he returned her smile with one of his own. Opening up the door, a burst of cold air frosted her nose immediately as he stepped outside.

"Close the door."

It was hilarious. Boruto's recklessness easily masked up his protective side from others but Sarada found it endearing. The ones who know him better are pretty much aware of his status as a worry wart when it comes to his little sister and herself.

"Yes." he slid the door halfway to appease him.

"Alright, see ya. I'll come to pick you up at nine."

"Okay."

"G'night."

"Bye, good night!"

She bid him farewell and closed the door. Finally, all alone in the solitude of her home. Sarada looked around to see anything amiss but then trudged over to her bedroom. After following up her normal routine and checking up her phone once, she buried herself beneath the blankets, craving for their heat in the harshness of the winter.

The absence of spontaneity at the moment allowed her to absorb the entire scenario.

Boruto Uzumaki - her best friend, was also going to be her boyfriend, this holiday. This all felt surreal.

Honestly, she was dreading the reactions of her family and his as well. Both the families have known them since they were babies. So, how would they confront the news.

The next morning came quicker than she expected or wanted. Following her normal morning routine. She was already dressed for travelling by eight-thirty. After packing up the last minutes things, she grabbed it and opened the door only to come face to face with a fist for knocking. Boruto promptly pulled it back, gave her a greeting, yanked her bag out of her hold and slunked it on his shoulder and headed down to the car without a single word and Sarada followed him after locking her door.

"You're early." she pointed out.

"Cause I'm hungry." he replied as he deposited her bag in the back seat. She climbed into his car and in no time, they were at Momo's.

"Good morning! Boruto and Sarada!"

The woman greeted them with a warm smile over her features.

"Usual?" she asked, pointing a table at the corner of the restaurant.

"Yes." they replied simultaneously.

As they talked about their journey and confirmed the agreement they made previous night, Sarada found a curious redness on Boruto's cheeks. About to comment for its presence, she's halted when two plates of warm waffles drizzled with syrup are placed on their table. Boruto thanks the woman before digging into his food like an excited happy child. Sarada giggles to herself at his enthusiasm before taking a bite herself.

"I'm glad to be here, you know." he said out of nowhere.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" she asked, a little confused at the randomness of his words.

"Nah. it's just...I'm glad that it's you."

"What?"

He shook his head and then indulged himself in finishing up the breakfast. Sarada felt her brows narrowing but then forgets it with warm heavenly taste of waffles in her mouth.

He left to start up the car and she stepped up to the counter to pay where the woman smiled at her and pointed out, "He looked quite happy? Did something happen?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Sarada, a little weirded out at the remark, laughed immediately, "Nope, nothing special that I can think of."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah?"

Sarada tilted her head in uncertainty, trying to gauge out the reason behind her disheartened look.

It was then her eyes fell upon them.

"Oh," she blurted out quickly, "They are spice rolls, right? Could you please pack them up?"

The woman nodded and rushed to pack it up.

"Boruto enjoys them, right?"

At Sarada's nod of affirmation the woman pushed one extra into the pack.

"What? Why?"

"It's christmas sweetie! Enjoy it to the fullest."

"Merry christmas to you too!"

Sarada smiled warmly at the woman before exiting the small restaurant and enter Boruto's car. She's met with his questioning gaze at the small packet and a cheeky grin blooms on her face before she places the packet on the back seat before nudging him to drive. He shook his head at her before proceeding to do so.

It is an unexpectedly silent journey. The scenes outside look incredibly admiration worthy. The sunlight that reflected on the snow made it look like glass. The trees on the side of the road are covered in a cold blanket of snow and she found herself marvelling over the beauty of the nature.

"Hey, Sarada?"

"Hmm?"

"What would you do if one of your closest friends would confess that they are in love with you?"

The question is so bizarre that she whirled around to stare at him. When her eyes fall on how white his knuckles are due to the strength with which he's gripping the steering wheel, she realises he is serious about it.

"Ah, well, um...I don't know, to be honest. I would be grateful to have their affections but...I wouldn't want to ruin a perfect friendship for something that may not work out and turn into something bitter." she fidgeted lightly.

"I...see."

She observed him carefully to determine why he sounded so disappointed at her reply but no proper answer comes. With all the contemplation going through her head, she never remembered herself slipping into sleep.

Sometime later she is roused from her dreamland when Boruto nudged her.

"Sarada. Wake up, we're here!"

Her eyes blinked open and she looked around only to gasp in delight when she is able to confirm that they're on the parking of the Uchiha mansion. He laughed at her excitement before climbing out of the car to gather their stuff. She got out and is about to help him when she heard a very familiar voice calling out her name.

She whipped her head to look and the source and is then hardly able to control herself before running across the length and launching herself into the awaiting arms of her uncle. The man looked down at her and his eyes are the warmest onyx she's ever seen.

"Welcome home, Sarada."

His voice is that calm baritone, rich and heavy and the one that Sarada cherished more than she could describe in words.

"Yo Uncle!"

Boruto's greeting floated over to them as her uncle stepped to help him with load and gestured Sarada to go ahead. Sarada happily skipped over to the door and pushed it open only to be glomped up by a loving embrace.

"Auntie!" Sarada exclaimed, returning the embrace before being ambushed by her grandmother.

"Welcome sweetheart!" Sarada found herself basking in the motherly warmth of the older lady before her eyes focus on the happy blur of red in front of them and then the entire room comes in her vision.

Boruto's grandmother - Uzumaki Kushina is the one in front of her. Her grandfather is standing there as well, with a small genuine smile on his face. Boruto's grandpa and dad are there too and then she sees her parents climbing down the stairs. Her mother is smiling brightly in greeting and she could see it, her Papa's gaze is laced with affection. And it is out of nowhere when she collides with a whirlwind of dark blue.

"Sarada!" Himawari looked up at her with the same eyes as her brother and Sarada grinned at her.

When the commotion is a little calmed, her grandmother seemed a little too eager.

"So, where is he?"

This is the direction that Sarada was dreading the most. She had hoped in vain that her grandmother had forgotten about this whole boyfriend fiasco but apparently she was wrong. And funnily enough, Kushina looked every bit as excited as her grandmother if not more.

"He?"

Sarada tried her best to feign innocence but it seemed like her grandmother was having none of it.

"Yes, your mysterious boyfriend of two years who was finally coming home to see us. With you."

Sarada looked at her mother for support but instead was met by an amused curious gaze. She gulped loudly and told herself -

_Here goes nothing._

As soon as Boruto entered the room she grabbed his arm and dragged him into the middle of the room, presenting him to all elders.

"This is him!" She declared loudly and Boruto, getting the wind of the situation immediately gave an awkward accepting grin and rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness. She clutched his sleeve tightly, ready to face their judgemental opinions.

Chaos.

Utter chaos was the only way to describe the entire scenario and both Boruto and Sarada found themselves stunned.

As soon as the implications of her words settled in the silence, the large living room of Uchiha mansion erupted in high chaos.

 

Both the oldest females - their grandmothers - were screaming like young girls who had been graced by the heated gaze of their crush. Her aunt had clasped her hands at her chest and looked on incredibly happy with it. Her uncle was nodding in approval, looking quite pleased. And Boruto's father looked on over them with a happy, gentle smile that both of his children had inherited it from him. Hinata stood in front of them, smiling serenely and Himawari looked proud. The scene that made her eyes go wide was the way Boruto's grandfather was smirking and held a hand out in front of her grandfather. And Sarada was able to deduce that they must have had made a bet. When her eyes fell upon her father, she blinked. The man looked so lost and shocked over this and from the looks of it, her mother trying to console him.

When she looked at Boruto, he was staring down at her with same wide surprised eyes trying to figure out what was happening as much as she did.

…

"You had been shipping us for that long?!" Sarada blanched as her grandmother talked about how she had hoped to see them together since they were babies.

"You two had chemistry." The woman insisted.

"And I understand that because I have not raised two boys for nothing." she proudly gestured to her two sons.

And Sarada found guilt seeping into her conscience. How would she react when she would learn that they had 'broken - up' soon after this ends. He loved her family - very much. Wanting to hurt them in anyway made her nauseated. Then how...was she going to battle this.

Suddenly, a feather light touch ghosting over her wrist made her look upwards into the calm, smiling blue orbs of him. And she found herself relaxing underneath his soft gaze and gentle touch.

They'll find a way out of this...together.

But being with him, in this sense? Was it obnoxious? Wrong? Unwarranted?

Later when Kushina blasted a music loud and rock enough to make her grandfather wince, the whole room bustled with activity. Both the oldest females were dragging their husbands around on the dance floor and her uncle entertained little Himawari. Boruto was already laughing and accompanying her aunt in the dance floor when her father offered her a dance.

"You look happy." He commented.

"I am!" Sarada exclaimed. "Glad to be here with you all! So is he!" she explained further, pointing out to Boruto.

Before he could make further questions, Hinata arrived with a large cake to celebrate everyone's presence here. When Boruto plopped down on the couch beside her, breathless with all the swirling around she laughed at his haphazardly spilled hair, raking her fingers through them to comb them down.

"I can tell you're having fun."

"Oh I am!" He grinned happily.

When another song started, Boruto gentlemanly offered his hand.

"Would you give me the honour of this dance?"

Sarada giggled, "Trying to be Prince charming, huh?"

"Only for you." He winked at her her stunned self before sweeping her off her feet and floating around in the entire hall. His hand on her waist made her heart flutter. It was a foreign but...yet, an insouciant feeling. And it made her happy beyond words could ever utter out.

She never saw this coming. But her body stopped functioning when Boruto leaned down to brush his lips against her cheek. The spot burned and maybe it did for him too because he immediately ripped himself away from her and ran off.

Sarada is unable to comprehend anything else when she does nothing but sit their, trying to figure out why she liked it that much and why, for the love of everything good and pure does she desire for him to do it again.

…

Sarada turned for the nth time on her bed. The sleep was not coming and lying there idly made her itchy with frustration. Her recent novel was already finished and the dark of the night left her craving for more.

Maybe some warm milk will help in sleeping.

Climbing out of her nesting in between the blankets, she slipped her feet into the her fuzzy slippers, grabbing her large warm shawl and wrapping it around herself, she tiptoed out of her room down the hall and trudged down the stairs as silently as possible.

Imagine her surprise when she found Boruto alone in midst of blankets and pillows, on the couch with a sheaf of papers, scribbling stuff.

"Boruto?"

He squeaked at being called out and looked at her with wide blue eyes.

"What are you doing?"

She inquired further, tilting her head to point out the papers scattered over the table.

"Uh, project?" He said dumbly.

Her brows immediately shot up under her bangs. She wondered if she's hearing things because Boruto... working on projects without her persuasion was once in a blue moon thing.

She immediately jumped up to him, peering over his notes. And yes, he was doing a good job. All important points were compiled together in neat handwriting. Going according to this, they'd be able to complete it in mere few hours.

"But why are you doing all by yourself?"

"Couldn't sleep." He said nonchalantly.

"You could've called me!" she accused.

"I thought you were sleeping. Is everything okay?" His voice having a tint of worry.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep as well."

She said, nudging him a little on the side to make room for herself. He gladly obliged with a smile. Both of them sat there for a while, cuddled up together. A flash of memories of today's night would appear in her head out of nowhere, making her a little conscious of his proximity. Maybe it was because she was so preoccupied with her own mess of feelings that she didn't seem to notice Boruto's agitation as well. In order to distract herself from this unmanageable twisting in the guts, she asked.

"So what do you want this Christmas for Santa to give you?"

He looked at her incredulously and she found herself blushing red.

"Hey! Why are you looking at me like that! We always used to ask each other that when we were kids!"

"Are we kids still now?" he asked gleefully.

At her indignant pout, he laughed out loudly. Until it cracked. Sarada peered up at him curiously and he looked down at her softly. And something else was there as well. After a bit of searching in his blue eyes, she realised - it was melancholy.

"What is want this year, or maybe it is something I have wanted for a while is not...something Santa can give me. Or anyone else for that matter. Anyone except for that one person."

He smiled ruefully but before she could ask him to explain further he already jumped out from their warm blanket fort, heading towards kitchen. And Sarada felt her chest burn.

He was avoiding her.

And the awareness of that hurt more than she would like. She sat there, alone, unable to comprehend the reason behind it. Her mind raced with a million possibilities.

His grades? No, they were completely fine. He would always score a decent 'A' in exams. Yes, his recent score held nothing below A. he might not look like it but Boruto was very fluent in his studies and even if he was failing he had never been the one to hesitate asking help. So yeah, grades can cancelled out.

Soccer? Hardly possible. It was not the soccer season now and even if it was she had always attended all of his matches and she cannot even remember the last one he and his team had lost. Uzumaki Boruto was the captain and he did his job unquestionably damn well.

Was he sick? Nope. He did have a habit of hiding things like this but last time when he had collapsed - in high school - she had made him promise her that he would never hide something like this from her ever. And she knows Boruto would never break his promises.

Friendship troubles? None that she can think of. Boruto was always an outgoing person. He did not have much trouble making friends and even if he occasionally did have disagreements he generally never lets them escalate to fights.

Then what else?

_What would you do if one of your closest friends would confess that they are in love with you?_

The thought was a severe punch into her gut. She found herself losing her breath for a moment. Is that...the reason?

" _Now I remember, I wanted to talk to you Boruto. Um, alone if Sarada doesn't mind."_

She stood up carefully, schooling her features to not give away her internal distress. She raked her brain to find any girl who has been closer to him in these past months...and only one came to her mind. Deciding that she needed confirmation to this, she entered the kitchen.

"Hot chocolate?" she asked, glad that her voice was neutral.

"Yup." he said, even not looking at her.

She calmly approached and leaned against the counter by his side. And with asked as softly as she could.

"Is it a girl?"

His stiffening was all the answer she needed.

"Do I know her?"

He gulped audibly and then nodded slowly.

"Is she our friend?"

Another nod of yes. And Sarada felt her heart clench painfully. This was heading in a direction that she was dreading.

"Is she in your class too?"

"Y-yeah." he said, flushing red.

Now it all made sense. Boruto's restlessness and occasional drifting off with his thoughts. His heated blush and smiles while looking at his phone. Of course, anybody would fall for her, she was one of the gentlest person Sarada had ever met. Calm and composed. Soft and caring. Beautiful and determined when needed to be. She was perfect. And Sarada could not understand why her heart was hurting so much. And also that she could not understand how blind she could have been to all of this. Her throat felt awfully heavy when she finally gathered the courage to speak.

"I think - I think that you should tell her that you like her too."

Boruto immediately whipped his head in her direction and his face morphed into intense alarm. And that's when she became aware of the tear sliding down her cheek.

_Shit._

She quickly retreated and was about to make a mad dash towards her room when a warm hand enclosed around her wrist and she was yanked back only to stumble right beneath the kitchen entrance. At Boruto's gasp of surprise her gaze flickered to his object of attention.

A mistletoe.

 _No, not now please._ She wanted to scream but it died down when Boruto whispered with fear lacing his voice when he looked down at her.

"I-I'm sorry Sarada. I can't do this. Not to you."

And Sarada immediately felt her heart crack into million pieces. At that moment she realised that she liked him. Romantically. She wanted to laugh out at the irony of the situation. She had fallen in love with her best friend after preaching to him about how romantic feelings hinder friendship. She had fallen for him when he was already inclined towards one of the sweetest woman she had ever known.

"Yeah, of course, because I'm not Sumire, right?"

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, she winced. It was supposed to be only sarcasm - a joke. She could not perceive how her tone had become so bitter and resentful.

At his stunned silence, she wondered how much was he going to put up with her. And how much was she going to screw up?!

She almost yanked her hand back from his hold but he was faster to tightly grasp it.

"Let me go, Boruto!'

She almost sobbed in the pressure of the entire situation when Boruto almost yelled.

"It's not Sumire! You idiot! It's not her!"

Sarada immediately stilled.

"W-what?" she looked at him dumbly.

He glared at her with something akin to frustration. Before ducking his head and trying to hide the blushing glow from her sight. It made her heart pound in her ears. He was being shy?

"Boruto?"

"The woman I l-love...it's not her. It's you. It's always been you. And the reason I couldn't kiss you is not because you're not Sumire...it's because you're you. It's because I could not bring myself to kiss you without your permission, without your feelings being the same for me. When I accepted your proposal to be your fake boyfriend...I was being selfish. I was taking advantage of the situation. But I don't want to do it further. That's why I won't."

He smiled sadly, before letting her go and was about to step back when Sarada made an important decision.

She gripped the edges of his collar and tugged him back harshly towards her, smashing her lips against him for a good three seconds before pulling away.

"Do you understand now?"

She asked coyly observing his bright red gawking face.

"I like you too. And yes, in the most non platonic way. I do."

Now after the deed being done, she felt that she was going to melt into a puddle, due to all the embarrassment as she buried her face into his chest. He gripped her shoulders and pushed her away slightly. When he peered up at him from beneath her lashes, she gave her a small but equally bright and genuine smile, blush still prominent, before leaning down to brush his lips on hers. Pulling back after a long chaste kiss, he rested his forehead against hers.

"Your lips are really warm."

She laughed and he simply dragged her to the couch, piling her over with blankets as he grinned and raced back into the kitchen. When he returned back, he had two cups of warm hot chocolate with marshmallows in his hands. They cuddled up in the couch together, his hand gripping hers softly and yet firmly.

So, this is what happiness feels like.

The morning found them both sleeping on the couch, curled up into each other beneath a load of blankets, two empty cups and papers littered over the table in front of them. Beautiful smiles gracing their lips as they were content being with each other.

The entire day is spent immersed in work and decorations and food. The gentle smiles that they shared and the locking of the eyes and stolen glances did not escape the watchful gaze of the observant elders. Later, Sarada was pulling out freshly baked golden cookies when Sakura approached her.

"So, pretend huh?"

She asked, slyly, observing her daughter with mirth when the younger woman stiffened.

Sarada looked over the counter where Boruto was busy assisting her dad with some last minute decorations. Smiling brightly like always. Sarada turned back to give her a mother the very smile that the older woman had come to cherish for last twenty years.

"No. Not anymore."

**Author's Note:**

> Tbh, I'm glad how well this has turned out. I wasn't planning for it to be this long but well, it happened and I do NOT regret it all. Had a lot of fun writing this! Special thanks to benteja again for making these amazing arts! Go follow her people! 
> 
> Now, do not forget to let me know your thoughts about this!
> 
> MERRY CHRISTMAS!


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